Office cabinet

ABSTRACT

An office cabinet is provided with steel end panels made by press forming and shaped to mimic chipboard slab ends with rounded corners. The end members are hollow and provided on their inner faces with arrays of apertures for mounting shelves and other fittings within the cabinet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Chipboard, a wood-based material, is frequently used in manufacturingoffice fittings and furniture. For this use the chipboard is providedwith a decorative surface finish, for example wood vineer or plasticsheeting while separate edge lippings may be employed to cover the edgesof the board. In particular, chipboard panels with rounded corners maybe used to form the sides or ends of cupboards or desks and the edges ofthese panels may be deliberately left exposed giving a distinctive"slab-end" appearance. Board panels with rounded corners can be employedto give a distinctive design appearance.

Although chipboard is the only material used for slab-ends to fairlylarge office cabinets where a substantial load carrying capability isrequired, it is somewhat unsatisfactory in this application. With suchcabinets, chipboard is liable to bow outwardly, it is difficult toprovide satisfactory concealed fastenings into the chipboard, and thelarge panels required would add substantially to the weight of suchcabinets. Office cabinets are nowadays often required to be able toreceive internal fittings at a variety of positions. This cannot readilybe achieved with a chipboard end panel, except by fitting a steel innerpanel spaced inwardly from the inside face of a chipboard end panel andthereby increasing the bulk of the cabinet.

Steel has been used for cabinet ends, but it has then been customary forthe cabinets to have right angled corners, and the slab end effect hasnot been sought.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to utilise end panels made fromsheet metal to avoid or ameliorate the above mentioned disadvantages ofchipboard end panels while forming the end panels in such a way as tomimic the appearance which can be achieved with chipboard. By means ofthe invention it becomes impossible to design an office cabinet so as tohave continuity of styling with other office furniture and fittingswhich make extensive use of slab ends formed from chipboard panels withrounded corners.

In this invention an end member of a cabinet is formed from sheet metalwhich is shaped so as to provide a plane face which is generallyrectangular but having rounded corners, while also providing edge facesaround at least part of the periphery of the plane face which curvearound the rounded corners so that the end member mimics the shape of aboard with rounded corners. These edge faces should of course besubstantially narrower than the plane face but substantially wider thanthe thickness of the metal sheet.

Preferably the end member is formed from a sheet metal blank having anarea corresponding to the plane face, portions which will form the edgefaces contiguous with this along the straight edges between the roundedcorners, and continuations of the edge forming portions projectingbeyond the limits of the straight edges, which form the curving portionsof edge face which extend around the rounded corners.

It is then preferable that fixing flanges, parallel to the plane face,but spaced from it, extend inwardly from the edge faces.

A cabinet embodying this invention may be constructed as a set of partssuitable for shipment in KD (knocked-down) form, and subsequent assemblyby riveting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the cabinet;

FIG. 3 shows the blank for the outer section of an end member;

FIG. 4 shows the outer section of the left hand end from the insideafter forming it to shape from the blank of FIG. 3, and welding onfurther parts;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section through the cabinet on line V--V of FIG. 2,and provides a corresponding view to FIG. 4, after assembly;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line VI--VI of FIGS. 4 and 5; and

FIG. 7 is a section on the line VII--VII of FIGS. 4 and 5.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the cabinet is designed so that its endmembers 12 appear to be separate slabs between which extend the top 14,base 16 and back of the cabinet. The front of the cabinet is closed by aroller shutter 18, also known as a tambour, with a handle 20 at itsbottom end.

Each end member 12 consists of a press-formed outer section 21 and aplanar inner panel 22. Each outer section has a plane face 24, whichforms a side face of the cabinet, surrounded by edge faces 26. The face24 is generally rectangular with all four corners radiussed. The edgefaces extend along the whole periphery of the face 24 and curve smoothlyaround the radiussed corners so that the edge faces 26' at the front andback merge smoothly into the edge faces 26" at top and bottom.

The outer section 21 of each end member is formed from a sheet steelblank as shown in FIG. 3. The outline of this includes arcs 30 whichwill become the radiussed corners of face 24. On FIG. 3 the lines alongwhich the blank is eventually bent are shown chain dotted, but until theblank is bent these lines are not visible in any way. They will bereferred to for convenience of description.

The area which forms the plane face 24 is bounded by the arcs 30 andlines 32,34. There are extensions from this area contiguous with italong the whole of the lines 34 and almost all of the lines 32. Theoutline of the blank includes very short sections 32' of the lines 32,though. The edge faces 26 are formed by the areas 36 between the lines32,34 and the respective parallel lines 42,44. Projections 46 continuebeyond the junctions of the lines 34 and the arcs 30. These form thecurving edge faces at the radiussed corners of the face 24.

A number of holes are made in outer areas 38,39 of the blank before itis formed to shape. These holes are used for rivetting at a later stage.The blank is formed to shape by conventional press forming. However, atleast some of the shaping could be effected by roll-forming. When pressforming is the only shaping operation, it accomplishes the followingsteps, not necessarily in the same order:

(i) the edge forming areas 36 are turned at right angles to the areaforming the face 24 so that the lines 32,34 become the horizontal andvertical straight edges of the plane face 24;

(ii) the projections 46 are curved so that each forms a quarter cylinderof substantially the same radius as the arcs 30 and thus their edges 48adjoin these arcs 30. The tips of the projections 46 remain straight,adjoining the edge sections 32', so that the edges 50 and 52 abut;

(iii) the areas 38,39 are taken through a further right angle about thelines 42,44 to form marginal flanges spaced from the face 24 butparallel to it; and

(iv) the area 56 is turned through yet another right angle around theline 58 so as to return towards the inside of the face 24.

The outer sections 21 of the left and right hand end members are ofcourse mirror images of each other. However, both can be formed fromidentical blanks by welding in opposite directions. After forming toshape, abutting edges 50 and 52 may be welded together, and the edges 48welded to the arcs 30.

A stiffener 60 is spot welded to the inside of each outer section 21.This stiffener is made by bending sheet steel to a stepped shape seen insection in FIG. 7. An upright support member 62, again bent from sheetsteel, is welded to the inside of the face 24. Its shape is seen insection in FIG. 6. It stiffens the end member, and also serves, with thereturn 56, to define a slot 64 which guides the side edge of the rollershutter 18.

The top 14, back panel 66 and base 16 are seen in section in FIG. 5. Allare made by bending sheet steel. The top 14 is made to curve smoothlyround into an upper front portion 68 and an upper rear portion 70.Flanges 72 are formed at its ends. The back panel 66 is a flatrectangular panel with flanges 74 around its edges. The base 16 is achannel section with a flange 76 across each end. These parts, notablytheir flanges 72,74 and 76, are all provided with holes for rivetting.

When all the parts have been formed to shape they are painted. Thecabinet is assembled by rivetting after painting its various parts. Inconsequence the cabinet can be shipped to a distributor in knocked downform, and assembled by him.

The various parts of the cabinet are held together by rivets as follows:

Rivets 80 through holes 80' hold the flanges 72 of the top onto flanges38,39 of each end's outer section 21. Rivets 82 through holes 82' holdthe flanges 76 to the stiffeners 60 welded to the ends. Rivets 84 securethe top flange 74 of the back panel to a horizontal flange inturned fromthe upper rear portion 70, and rivets 86 secure the bottom flange 74 tothe base 16. The back panel 66 is set in slightly from the rear of thecabinet giving a recess in which a pinboard can be held. The rivets 84and 86 also secure a pair of angle section members 88 to hold the topand bottom of such a pinboard.

Rivets 90 through holes 90' hold the inner panel of each end to the backflange 38 of its outer section 21, with a vertical flange 74 of the backpanel sandwiched between. Rivets 92 through holes 92' hold the innerpanel of each end to the upright support member 62 welded to the outersection 21.

Each of the inner panels is punched before assembly to form two uprightcolumns of closely spaced slots 93 which can be used to attach shelvesand other fittings in a multitude of different positions. Suitablefittings are the Flexiform range from Flexiform, Leeds, England.

The roller shutter is of conventional construction. It passes over aguide roller 94, and winds onto a spring loaded roller 96. Both rollersare carried on brackets 98 welded onto the outer sections of the endmembers.

The "slab-ended" appearance of the cabinet can be accentuated by use ofa paint finish on the end members which contrasts with that on the top,back and base. For example a dark, matt paint on the ends and a lightcoloured gloss elsewhere.

The cabinet described can be included in a range of office furniturewhich employs slab-ends formed from chipboard panels with radiussedcorners and surfaced with plastics laminate on both face and edges.Unity of design styling is preserved, yet as compared with a cabinetwith chipboard end members the following advantages accrue:

(1) lighter weight;

(2) the rivets give secure fastening of the end members, withoutpenetrating the faces 24. (Equally concealed fastenings into chipboardtend to be less secure and/or more bulky and do not readily permitshipment in knocked down condition.)

(3) greater load bearing capacity and avoidance of the bowingencountered with chipboard supporting a heavy load.

(4) an undesirable increase of thickness of the ends is avoided in thatthe slots 93 for fittings could not be provided in chipboard, and wouldrequire provision of a slotted panel spaced inwardly from a chipboardend

(5) the hollow interior of the steel end members can accomodate a guideslot for a side of the roller shutter.

By way of example only, a cabinet embodying this invention may have anoverall height of either 1575 or 2030 mm and a front to back width of500 mm. The edge faces can then be 19 mm across and the corners can havea radius of 12 mm (so that the radius of the corners is more than halfthe width of the edge faces).

All the parts of the cabinet can be made from steel sheet approximately1 mm thick. Thus the width of the edge faces 26 is more than ten timesthe thickness of the steel sheet, and the width of the plane face ismore than ten times (indeed more than twenty times) the width of theplane face 24.

I claim:
 1. In an office cabinet comprising a pair of end members eachformed from a planar sheet metal blank bent so as to provide a planeface and edge faces extending around at least part of the periphery ofthe plane face, which edge faces are substantially wider than thethickness of the sheet metal and substantially narrower than the widthof the plane face, the plane face forming a generally rectangular outerside surface of the cabinet and the edge faces adjoining said side faceat least at the front, top and rear of the cabinet,the improvementwherein said sheet metal blank includes:a generally rectangular areawhich corresponds to said plane face and has at least some roundedcorners and straight edges extending from said corners, edge formingportions contiguous with said area along said straight edges,continuation of at least some of said edge forming portions projectingbeyond the junction of one of said straight edges with said roundedcorner, and the blank being bent along said edges to turn said edgeforming portions perpendicularly to the plane face and saidcontinuations of said edge forming portions being curved to adjoin therounded corners of the plane face such that the edge face formed by saidedge forming portions and the continuations thereof curves around saidrounded corners whereby the end member mimics the shape of a board withrounded corners.
 2. A set of parts for assembly to form an officecabinet according to claim 1, said parts comprisinga pair of end memberouter sections each formed from the planar sheet metal blank; a pair ofinner panels each having means for the attachment of internal fittingswithin the cabinet; a base, a top and a back, all including flanges tobe disposed vertically at each side of the assembled cabinet.
 3. Anoffice cabinet according to claim 1 further comprising marginal flangesextending inwardly from said edge faces parallel to said plane face andspaced therefrom.
 4. An office cabinet according to claim 1 wherein eachend member comprises an outer section providing said plane face and edgefaces and further comprises an inner panel extending parallel to saidplane face and spaced therefrom.
 5. An office cabinet according to claim4 wherein said inner panel is provided with means for the attachment ofinternal fittings within said cabinet.
 6. An office cabinet according toclaim 5 wherein said means for attachment of internal fittings comprisesan array of apertures.
 7. An office cabinet according to claim 1 whereinsaid end members have a paint finish contrasting with a paint finish onother parts of said cabinet.
 8. An office cabinet according to claim 1wherein each end member comprisesan outer section providing said planeface and said edge faces around the periphery thereof, said outersection also comprising marginal portions extending inwardly from saidedge faces and spaced from said plane face;said end member alsocomprising an inner panel spaced inwardly from said plane face andhaving means for the attachment of internal fittings within thecabinet;the cabinet further comprising a base, a top and a back, allhaving vertical flanges at each side of the cabinet, the said verticalflanges of said top and back being attached to said marginal portions ofsaid outer sections, said inner panels and the vertical flanges of saidbase also being attached to said outer sections of the end members. 9.An office cabinet according to claim 8 wherein each outer section of anend member has additional parts welded thereto, to one of which a saidvertical flange of said base is attached.